"Ecclesia semper reformanda" is a Latin phrase that means "church always reforming." It describes the need for the church in every generation to be renewed by God in order to join him in his mission in the world.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

The
solution to the “great omission” lies in moving from in-reach to outreach.[1]It means shifting into ‘go-mission,’ breaking
out of the ecclesial ghetto and taking the initiative to go to “the neighbor.”
This go-mission requires overcoming initial inertia. And going is messy.

The
church must go to others for they will not automatically come to the church,
meeting on the church's turf, on the church's terms.[2]It is the church's responsibility to
penetrate people in the spheres of the market- place, neighborhoods, universities, arts, and government.God calls the church not merely to gather but to scatter, exiting the building and taking the initiative to go and
meet sojourners (not-yet Christians) where they are and engage them in
meaningful conversations.Like a
football team that breaks from its huddle, the church must break from its "holy
huddle" to carry out its mission.Charles Colson states:

We must take the church to the
people.Too often we sit in church as
spectators, waiting for the needy multitudes to come watch the show with
us.But for those in need—spiritually and
physically—a fat, lethargic church preoccupied with its own entertainment holds
no appeal.Jesus didn't set up
counseling hours in the Temple;
He went into the homes of the most notorious sinners, to the places where the
lame, the beggars, the needy could be found.[3]

This
"go-mission" calls us to leave our comfort zones and enter various spheres of
influence.Taking the initiative demands
that we move from “the calm of the pew” into “the messiness” of people’s lives.And so we say with C. T. Studd: “Some want to
live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop, within
a yard of hell.” And going is messy.

The
great commission will not be accomplished by timid action, or by waiting
passively for it to happen.The church
must be on the offensive but this does not mean that the church is to be
offensive.Rather, we reach out
intentionally and tactfully to those who do not know God.Boldness and gentleness are not mutually
exclusive. As John Stott said, "We carry out mission in Christ’s way."[4]

For
us, the most receptive groups to engage are found within our spheres of
influence.These comprise our everyday spaces— neighborhood,
workplace, and third places. For a local church, the most receptive population
to engage is its collective sphere of relationships.In order to do this, however, the church must
provide encouragement and opportunities for believers to build relationships
with those in their sphere of influence.It becomes counter-productive to over-program, expecting believers to
attend several services and meetings each week to the
neglect of reaching out to others.

Rather,
believers should be encouraged to attend a worship service, a small group or
missional community, and service opportunity, with the balance of time given to
activities such as entertaining neighbors, exercising at a health club,
volunteering at a hospital, coaching a soccer team, helping with a reading
program, or participating in a local civic group. As we respond to the "go-mission," depart our comfort zones, and serve "the neighbor," a warning is in order: missional is messy!

Monday, December 22, 2014

The
temptation of the church is mission drift,
namely, to drift away from the mission to make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20).The result is the great o-mission.[1]The church “fulfills the great o-mission” as
it turns inward, loses sight of its purpose, becomes accustomed to the status
quo, and lives in disobedience to Jesus' command to make disciples
of all nations.[2]

﻿

This
omission comes as a result of inward self-concern rather than a concern for
"the other," those who live outside of faith in Christ.The
church focuses primarily on itself, its needs, and agendas.It exhibits an exclusive attitude, being
spiritually smug, distancing itself from contact with people who are far from God.It consequently becomes ingrown, apathetic,
stagnate, and cynical.It suffers from the ecclesial illness known as "koinonitus" (from the Greek word koinonia, meaning fellowship), an imbalance of too
much Christian fellowship to the neglect of mission to others.[3]This tendency toward exclusive friendships,
activities, and church programs which are inward-focused is dangerous to the
health of the church and a denial of its mission to the world.

The
church's omission may not be an oversight
but a lack of insight as to what God
wants to do in the world.The church
does not see the world as God sees it, from his divine perspective.Hence, there is no burden for sojourners who live outside the family of God.A local
church may be cordial to those who darken its doors and join for worship but it
does not actively reach out to others within its sphere of relationships, its
extended oikos (household).With such a lack of insight, such Christians becomes
"keepers of the aquarium" meeting solely for the sake of the redeemed
rather than engaging equally in redemptive relationships, participating with Jesus in fishing for men, (Matt. 4:19).[4]

﻿

The
goal of the church in this case quickly shifts to maintenance of the status
quo.Services are conducted, programs
are maintained, and ministries are continued entirely for the benefit of
believers-- “servicing the saints.”In
the course of events, the church develops a fortress mentality, focused
mainly upon those within its walls, rather than on those outside.Its purpose becomes preservation of the
organization, its history, traditions, structure and facility.Any mission that occurs is done to
perpetuate and maintain the institution, not to redeem individuals, the
community, or the world.

The
church's omission may be directly related to disobedience to the commands of
Jesus.The church understands the
need to make disciples but does not act upon it, thereby proving itself
irresponsible and disobedient to the great commission, resulting in what John
Howard Yoder calls apostasy.[5]Rather than reaping as workers in the
harvest, Christians are more like "field residents," solely living among the
crops (and perhaps squandering resources on themselves) but not laboring
in the harvest.[6]It is the church's preoccupation with itself
that leads to the lack of obedience and measly results, if there are any
results at all.

This
sad state of affairs is all too common in the post-Christendom church
today.Pastors and church leaders remain
comfortable shepherding the flock, and justify this omission by all the
"good things" that make up a busy schedule.[7]When this is the case among leadership,
little evangelism can be expected among the people.Such a state of affairs results in
"fulfilling the great o-mission."

Unless
Christ-followers take the initiative to reach out to people, and
engage in redemptive relationships, the church will continue to diminish in
number and influence within our post-Christian context.To remain in a "holy huddle,"
sitting back, wishing and praying, but never moving out as “sent ones” to make
disciples is disobedience to the mandates to “make disciples of all nations”
(Matt. 28:19) and to “love neighbor as self,” (Matt. 22:39).

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Initiative is discovered in the character
of God.He is the almighty and merciful
initiator revealed in the Scriptures.[1]He took the initiative to create the
world.He took the initiative to create
man in order to have fellowship with him.He took the initiative to search for rebellious man, calling to him in the
garden, "Where are you," (Gen. 3:9)?He took the initiative to reconcile the human race to himself, so that
those who receive his provision for sin will "reign in life through the
one man, Jesus Christ," (Rom. 5:17).Indeed, every major act of God is an initial move--searching for,
reaching out and saving humankind all for the love of his creation.

This
divine initiative (Deo praeveniri) is necessary in order for "created-good-but-sin-infected" humanity to return to
a right standing before a holy God.The
hope of the human race is not in itself, nor in its tainted goodness, but in
God who according to his great mercy rescues human beings from a desperate and
despairing state.It is his initiative,
not humanity's that brings salvation to men, women, and children on earth.[2]

The
initiative of God is seen in his identification with the human race.This is observed chiefly in the incarnation,
"the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us," (John 1:14).The incarnation was the invasion into human
life by God himself, entering into time, space and history, identifying with
his creation through his Son Jesus Christ.The Scriptures state:

Who, being in very nature God, did
not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself
nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human
likeness.And being found in appearance
as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a
cross, (Phil. 2:6-8)!

The
initiative of God is also seen in his calling and sending activity.In biblical history, he sent chosen men and
women to carry out his will to proclaim his truth.He sent his Son Jesus Christ and his Holy
Spirit into the world.Jesus likewise
sent his disciples to carry on the initiating activity of reaching out to people
with the message of his incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and restoration of all things.

The
Great Commission with Jesus Christ is a
mission of initiative (Matt. 28:18-20).It originates in
the will of the Father, is revealed and affirmed in the life of his Son, and is
carried out through the church in the power of the Holy Spirit.Since God has initiated a relationship with
human beings, his people are called in like manner to initiate relationships
with others, based upon his initiative and love for humankind.[3]His people are sent to the ends of the earth,
to the end of time, always on the move to fulfill the Great Commission ... a mission with Christ.

The
church participates in this search and rescue mission, like "the Son of Man" who "came
to seek and to save what was lost," (Luke 19:10).This is a ministry of reconciliation given to
all who have been initiated into God's family through faith in his Son.

All this is from God, who
reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not
counting men's sins against them.And he
has committed to us the message of reconciliation.We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as
though God were making his appeal through us, (2 Cor. 5:18-20).

Since God has chosen to use his people
to make disciples, the Great Commission is truly a co-mission.He forms a partnership with all believers,
"God's fellow workers," (1 Cor. 3:9).These partners in the Great Commission are
instrumental in God accomplishing his purposes on earth, building his
kingdom here as in heaven.He employs his
people as his agents, engaging in redemptive relationships, under the direction of
his Spirit.

Thus, each Christian has a responsibility to reach out within his or
her sphere of influence.Every disciple
is to take the initiative to be a witness for Jesus Christ, participating in the
Great Commission in his or her niche in the world.This includes reaching out to family,
friends, neighbors, associates and acquaintances.It also includes reaching out to people
beyond the borders of existing relationships.
Christ-followers are to be his "witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth," (Acts 1:8).

Every
local church also assumes a particular responsibility to reach out to its
sphere of influence.This sphere is the
sum total of each of its members' spheres of influence, plus all those who are
influenced by the church's corporate witness in the community and region.The desired effect is synergism, namely, the
whole is greater than the sum of its parts.A church's corporate sphere of influence represents a population of
people several times larger than the church itself.Every local church has the responsibility to
take the initiative to be a witness for Christ to its Jerusalem,
Judea, Samaria and to ends of the earth.

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About Me

Dr. Gustafson serves as Associate Professor of Evangelism and Missional Ministry and Chair of the Mission and Evangelism Department at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He is a graduate of Linköpings Universitet in Sweden (Ph.D.), Fuller Theological Seminary (D.Min.), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (M.Div., Th.M.), and Western Illinois University (B.B.).